Friends Event: Love and War in the Bhagavad Gita

A talk by Anuradha Dooney of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

Prince Arjuna stands on the battlefield facing family, friends and revered elders in conflict. The conch has sounded and a war of epic proportion has begun.  Yet the Bhagavad Gita is renowned for its teachings on bhakti or devotion to God. Does the Bhagavad Gita then advocate war? How can we reconcile Krishna’s teachings on love with such a scene of violence? How can love be Krishna’s teaching when He instructs Arjuna to fight? This class explores the apparent irreconcilable teachings on love and war on the battlefield of kuruksetra and beyond.